Self-draping necktie



Oct. 31, 1939. s, 1 u 2,178,029

SELF-DRAPING NECKTIE Filed April 14, 1938 Patented Oct. 31, 1939 UNITED STATES SELF- DRAPING N ECKTIE Sidney D. Blue, New York, N. Y., assignor to Cluett, Peabody & 60., Inc., Troy, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application April 14, 1938, Serial No. 201,991

5 Claims.

This invention pertains to neckties of the four in-hand type and concerns an improvement in such ties designed to assist the wearer in so tying the tie as to obtain a smart appearing 5 knot.

Considerable skill and care must ordinarily be exercised in properly tying a necktie, especially if that part of the tie which is exposed just below the knot is to have the draped effect so ,0 essential to provide an artistic appearance where contrasts of light and shade exhibit to its fullest the lustre and pattern of the fine textile fabric. One desired type of drape is that in which the lateral margins of the tie, just below the knot,

5' form forwardly convex ridges disposed at opposite sides of a longitudinal tear-shaped concavity central of the width of the tie, said concavity commonly being referred to as a dimple.

In tying a necktie so as to make certain the production ofsuch a dimple, the wearer proceeds in the usual manner, first carrying the wide end of the tie over and under the narrow end, then extending the wide end up between the transverse portion of the tie material and the front of the collar, and then down through the loop formed by its first crossing of the narrow end portion. To ensure the formation of the dimple, the margins of the wider end, immediately below the partially formed knot, are seized by the 3 thumb, first finger and middle finger so that the tip of the forefinger forms a central depression and marginal folds are formed between the thumb and forefinger and the forefinger and the middle finger, respectively, and while thus holdi' ing the material of the tie, the knot is tightened to the desired degree.

' The procedure just outlined involves some considerable care on the part of the person who is tying the tie, even if he be informed as to the b proper procedure, which is probably true of but a small percentage of the persons who wear such ties. Even when the above procedure is followed, it does not always produce the desired results, since the material of some ties does not seem i readily to assume the dimpled appearance; and even if properly tied initially, the tie may gradually lose its dimpled appearance due to slippage of the knot or to the relative movements of the tie and the outer garments of the wearer.

P The object of the present invention is to provide a necktie so devised that, without the exercise of especial care on the part of the wearer, a properly draped effect may readily be obtained. A further object is-toprovide a four-ini hand tie of self-draping type which may be boxed and sold in flat condition like an ordinary tie and which, like an ordinary tie, may be hung upon an exhibiting rack in a store and which, when so exhibited, appears to the prospective purchaser substantially like a tie of usual con- 5- struction. his a further object to provide a tie of self-draping type which, when tied, tends to retain the draped effect so long as it is Worn.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out in the following 19, more detailed description and by reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein Fig. l is a diagrammatic elevation of a four-inhand tie as it appears when hung upon an exhibiting rack, such tie embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary rear view, to larger scale, of the wider end portion of the tie, illustrating features of the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the wider end portion of the tie, showing its appearance when it has been prepared in readiness for tying;

Fig. .4 is a rear elevation of the parts as shown. in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic transverse section, to large scale, on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4; and Fig. 6 is a fragmentary front elevation showing the improved tie with the knot completed.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 5 designates the wide or exposed end portion of the tie, said tie having the narrow end portion 2 and the neckband portion 3. As illustrated in detail in Fig. 5, the tie comprises a lining L which is interposed between a front ply and a rear ply of the tie fabric in accordance with a common mode of manufacture.

The present invention contemplates the provision of. releasable fastening means disposed at that partof the wider end I of the tie which is located within or just below the knot when the tie hasbeen tied. As shown in Fig. 2, this fastener means comprises a pair of snap fasteners, one fastener comprising the separable, complemental elements 4 and 5 and the other fastener comprising the separable, complemental elements 4 and 5*. These several fastener elements are secured by stitches or the like which pass through the material of the rear ply of the tie and also preferably through the material of the lining, but which do not pass through or engage the front ply. As illustrated, these several fastener elements are disposed in alignment transversely of the width of the tie, the outermost elements 5 and 5 being spaced inwardly from the extreme edges of the tie. Preferably the material of the rear ply is secured in the properly overlapped relation by means of stitches 6 in alignment with the several fastener elements so as to prevent separation of the overlapped portions of the rear ply at the region of the fasteners.

When sold and on exhibition, the fastener elements are separated as shown in Fig. 2 so that the wide end portion of the tie may lie flat and smooth like the ordinary tie unprovided with such fastener means. However, in preparation for tying the necktie, the user engages the snap fastener elements 4 and 5, and 4 and 5*, respectively. This contracts the tie transversely, forming forwardly directed convex ridges 9 and I0 and at the same time forming indentations H and 12 at the opposite edges of the tie.

The attachment of the fastener elements both to the material of the rear ply and to the lining assists in producing the above effect for, as indicated in Fig. 5, the act of assembling the fastener elements tends to double the lining and the rear ply material forwardly in parallel folds, as indicated at l4 and M to form tubular forwardly divergent longitudinal ribs, spaced apart transversely with an intermediate space l5 across which the material of the front ply extends in bridge fashion, the material of this front ply contacting the ribs 14 and M but being unsupported between them. The operation of uniting the fastener elements also causes the material at the extreme edges 1 and 8 of the tie to project rearwardly of the plane of the rear face of the tie, and the tie is thus very considerably narrowed when the fasteners are united.

Having thus constricted the tie by uniting the fasteners and having thereby formed the internal ribs l4 and M across which the front ply extends without intermediate support, the operator then proceeds to tie the necktie in the usual fashion. During the final tightening of the knot, the constricted part of the tie at the location of the fasteners is disposed within the loop member H, the loop exerting a further constrictive effect which causes the unsupported material of the front ply to sink inwardly between the ribs 14 and M The elongate concavity thus formed extends down below the knot, gradually flaring in width and forming the dimple l6. Since the parts of the tie are definitely held in the constricted relation by the fasteners, there is but little opportunity for the tie to lose its draped effect after once being tied. Moreover, the definite lateral constriction produced by the fasteners and which results in the formation of the indentations II and [2 at the edges of the tie, enables the transverse portion ll of the knot to obtain a firm grip on the material of the wider end of the tie and thus to prevent slippage or loosening of the knot after once being tied.

While one desirable embodiment of the invention has herein been illustrated and described by way of example, it is to be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited to this precise arrangement, but is to be regarded as broadly inclusive of any equivalent construction falling within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A necktie of the four-in-hand type having a narrow end portion, a neckband portion, and a wide end portion, and comprising a front ply and a rear ply, and a plurality of snap fasteners disposed at that part of the wide end of the tie which lies within the tied knot, each such fasener comprising a pair of ccmplementalseparable elements, the separable elements being disposed in alignment transversely of the tie and being secured to the rear ply but being free from the front ply, said fasteners, when their elements are united, holding the rear ply in a plurality of forwardlydirected, longitudinally extended folds disposed immediately behind the front ply and forming laterally spaced supports for the latter.

2. A necktie ready for tying, said tie including a front ply and a rear ply and having portions of its lateral margins, at that part of the wider end of the tie which will be exposed just below the tied knot, directed rearwardly and with their free edges laterally spaced and disposed rearwardly of the rear surface of the tie material intermediate said edges, and releasable means uniting said portions of the margins to the rear ply but not to the front ply.

3. A self-draping necktie, said tie including a front ply and a rear ply and having portions of its lateral margins, at that part of the wider end of the tie which will be exposed just below the tied knot, directed rearwardly and with their free edges spaced apart and disposed rearwardly of the rear surface of the tie material intermediate said edges, and a pair of snap fasteners releasably holding said portions of the respective margins in said positions, each fastener comprising one element which is secured to said marginal portion and a complemental element which is secured to the rear ply but which is not attached to the front ply.

4. A necktie of the conventional four-in-hand type having a narrow end portion, a neckband portion, and a wide end portion, the tie being designed to be formed and tied in a conventional four-in-hand knot, and drape-forming means operative, in preparation for typing, to narrow that part of the wide end portion which is concealed within the tied knot, said drape-forming means including two fasteners, each of which includes a pair of complemental mutually engageable elements, the said elements of each fastener normally being. laterally spaced but operatively engageable to hold the material gathered together thereby to form two laterally spaced forwardly and longitudinally extending folds and to form a centrally and rearwardly longitudinally extending fold or dimple immediately below the knot when the latter is tied.

5. A self-draping necktie of the conventional 5 four-in-hand type having a wide end portion, and a narrow end portion and a neckband therebetween, the tie being designed to be formed and tied in a conventional four-in-hand knot,

said tie comprising a front ply affording a continuous unbroken outer surface extending uninterruptedly from its free end to the neckband, and releasable drape-forming means secured to the rear side of a part of the wide portion, said means including a pair of cooperating fastening elements which are secured to laterally spaced portions of the tie and which mutually engage to cause the intervening material of the tie gathered together thereby to form two laterally spaced forwardly and longitudinally extending folds and to form a centrally and rearwardly longitudinally extending fold or dimple immediately below the knot when the latter is tied, the part of the tie to which said means is secured being adapted to be received and concealed within a conventional knot having a front portion afforded by another part of the tie between said first part and the neckband, said parts both including the aforesaid continuous front ply.

SIDNEY D. BLUE. 

